Sri Lanka small group vacation, Buddhas Island

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

We travel in groups no larger than 16 people. This allows us to use a small bus which is relatively fuel efficient per person and is much more suitable for the roads in Sri Lanka, particularly traveling through the stunning Central Highlands. The food in Sri Lanka remains exceptionally local, with fresh organic vegetables whilst traveling in the interior and beautiful fresh seafood along the coast. There are also plenty of options in the delicious cuisine for vegetarians and vegans to enjoy a varied and healthy diet.The intelligent use of water for irrigation and people dates back thousands of years to the ancient Buddhist Kingdoms. Sri Lanka has also been an early adopter of hydro-electric power and nowadays just under half of the energy requirement is generated in this way. As a travel company we are acutely aware of our impact on the environment. All of our tours display a carbon footprint, and we strive to reduce our emissions by regularly reviewing our tours and embracing low-impact styles of travel such as trains, public buses or walking – which offer the added benefit of getting a closer connection with the destination and local community.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

We include 4WD excursions into the National Parks of Wilpattu and Udawalawe to help discover the wonderful and diverse flora and fauna of Sri Lanka. We visit the Elephant Transit Home that helps injured and orphaned elephants to rehabilitate then reintroduce into the wild. For part of the year we hike to World's End in Horton Plains National Park - one of Sri Lanka's three key biodiversity hotspots. The entrance fees generated from these visits help to sustain and protect the parks and projects.

Through our local guides, hotels and tour leader we encourage minimising the use of water, towels and bedding in order to help hotels reduce their energy consumption. We undertake training and awareness for our jeep drivers for the game drives in order to help ensure best practice, maintaining a safe and respectful distance and minimal interaction with the wildlife we are lucky enough to encounter. We choose not to visit Yala National Park due to problems of too many jeeps. We strive to support nature and biodiversity through protection and regeneration projects, and for every customer that travels with us we make a donation to Rewilding Britain and Cool Earth.

We encourage customers to avoid single-use plastic on tour, and our leaders give advice on refill points each day. We encourage clients to refill their bottles everyday whenever needed, either on the bus where we include a fresh water dispenser and in accommodation where they provide filtered water for our guests. Where tap water isn't safe to drink we recommend Water-to-Go bottles, a filtration bottle allowing you to drink water from any source.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

We use locally owned accommodation throughout this tour. In some areas there are limited options for eating in local restaurants but wherever possible, particularly on the coast and in the cities we eat out in local restaurants and make the most of the wonderful food Sri Lanka has to offer.
We visit crafts markets throughout the tour where clients can learn about local arts, crafts, food and drink and they have the opportunity to purchase locally made products.

Our leaders are the heart of tours. They bring passion and unrivalled knowledge of the destinations and communities that we visit. Their guidance ensures we observe the cultural norms in a destination, they act as a bridge between travelers and the local community and ensure that tourism is a positive experience for both host and guest. We believe in supporting local; staying in locally-run hotels, exploring markets, buying snacks from street vendors, and by doing this we add money to the local economy and enhance our connection with the local community.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY & DIVERSITY

We have worked happily and successfully with our small family-run local partners for many decades. Since the beginning we have encouraged and supported the use of local leaders, guides and drivers to support our Sri Lanka vacations. By employing local guides and helpers as we travel around the country, as well as locally-owned hotels, we help to direct investment directly into the local economies we visit. Staff are paid above the minimum wage and our partner nurtures equal employment without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality.